Customer Reviews

Comic [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read reviews of this film both here and on other movies sites and have never come across such a mixed bag of opinons! Everything from a misguided interpetation that it's based on the life of Buster Keaton (which it is not!) to a review here of scenes that will haunt you (which they will). I also saw this film in the 70's and have been lucky enough to catch it again 15 years ago.

Van Dyke and Rooney do it and do it well. Some of the best scenes are the Comics' later years. The closing scene you will never forget, it has haunted me since the first time I saw this movie.

For those of you who can buy it over there, get it, you won't regret it. Unfortunately it just isn't available down here. Believe me I have searched high and low for years.

A memorable composite biopic about a silent film comedy star who has trouble handling success, and then falls afoul of the advent of sound. The film quotes scenes from other famous movies. For example, the main character voices-over his own funeral, a la _Sunset Boulevard_. But it is a memorable production for its own sake. We follow the comic from success straining his marriage, to his star on the wane, to attempts at a comeback, until we leave him as a pathetic wreck, old and full of regrets, watching one of his old films on late night TV. Affecting stuff...

I saw this film back in the 70's and i could not get it out of my mind. Without a doubt the best work Van Dyke has done. He and Reiner sculpt a film of unforgettable honesty & humor. This is a soft spoken study of humanity. I'd compare "The Comic" to "Chaplin" but for me more memorable in it's simplicity. About a silent film star forgotten with the years "The Comic" also creeps into film history "silently" as a Classic.

For years I made do with an old VHS copy of "The Comic," while I looked for a DVD version. Then I finally found it...but not here. Do a search in the DVD section of eBay. It's a no-region edition that they obviously get from foreign sources. I don't believe it's ever been out on DVD in the U.S. This DVD is not remastered, and is not quite as bright as the tape, but it's DVD-sharp and it plays just fine. "The Comic" is an underrated, neglected minor masterpiece. It is without a doubt the best acting Dick Van Dyke has ever done. If the ending doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you have no heart. This movie deserves a top-quality domestic DVD release. Until then, be aware that a DVD version does exist.

Like many reviewers, I saw this back around 1980 when I was 15 on television and never forgot it. This is a deep more-truth-than fiction tale about the life and times of Billy Bright. Dick Van Dyke (in what is undoubtedly his best performance) gives us a look at Bright (a semi-fictional silent screen comedian) whose life is loosely based on a composite of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel (Van Dyke's mentor), et. al. Van Dyke was greatly influenced by this genre of comedy and this film (written by Carl Reiner) is his tribute to them. We see the tragic fate of such comedians when silent comedy dies and sound films took over. Two scenes in particular stand out to me that I still remember after all these years: Van Dyke as the comic in a faux silent film playing a prisoner released from jail is as touching as anything Chaplin did at the time and where as an old man, the comedian sees a tv listing and eagerly waits until late night to catch one of his old films on television (a common practive in the pre VCR-DVD days).

AND SPEAKING OF DVD's, the number of people who were touched by this underground classic is considerable, based on the reviews here. So either Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, or anyone alive today connected with this film should BRING IT OUT ON DVD!

VAN DYKE WAS FAMOUS FOR THE TV SHOW. THIS MOVIE WITH MICHELLE LEE MADE THIS OLD TIME MOVIE BUFF "CRY LIKE A BABY". THE END IS GREAT. AND SAD. THEY DONT MAKE EM LIKE THIS ANYMORE. STILL IN THE BUSSINESS SINCE 1969 AND NOT MANY MOVIES CAN DO THIS TO ME. TITANIC, WAS THE LAST AND MAY VERY WELL BE THE "LAST" ONE TO MAKE THIS OLD GUY CRY. IF THIS WERE ON DVD, I WOULD BUY IT IN A MINUTE.

What makes this 1969 funny/sad movie difficult for a lot of people is that writer-director Carl Reiner can't seem to make up his mind whether the audience should like Billy Bright (a fictitious silent screen clown brought to life unmatchably by the great Dick Van Dyke), dislike him, laugh at him, or feel sorry for him. Owing to Van Dyke's own comic genius (clearly channeling his idol and mentor Stan Laurel), we see why Billy Bright, a silent screen clown, is so successful at the beginning; it's similarly a tribute to Van Dyke's own appeal that Billy--an egocentric, womanizing creep, who provides rather bitter voice-over narration from his coffin--isn't a complete turn-off. Excellent support from Michelle Lee as Billy's long-suffering wife (Van Dyke and Lee can be proud that 40 years later they look much better than the old-age make-up predicted them to look) and wonderful Mickey Rooney as his sidekick Cock-eye. I defy Jim Carrey or Will Farrell to attempt a remake and be even a quarter as good as Dick Van Dyke is in this confusing but undervalued film. In the meantime, get this one on DVD.

I saw this on TV along time ago and wanted to get a copy. The videotape had a high pitch noise throughout but I still was able to watch it. Billy Bright reminds me of Charli Chaplin. Dick Van Dyke is a good actor.

Written by Carl Reiner, The Comic was actually an unfunny story of Billy Bright, a silent screen comedian who's career was over when talkies arrived, but would later have a comeback in television commercials. Yet it's entertaining and intriguing, with a great cast that included Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Michele Lee and Carl Reiner himself. The film also reflects the real lives and careers of comedians Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel. Also featured in this film is Isabel Sanford, Cornell Wilde, Steve Allen and Jerome Cowan.

"The Comic" stars Dick van Dyke, Michelle Lee, and Mickey Rooney. Don't be misled by the Amazon listing that mentions Steve Allen and Jerome Cowan. Steve Allen does make an appearance (as himself) and Jerome Cowan has a small part as Lawrence, in what was to be his last film, but they shouldn't be listed as the main performers.

The role of silent film funny man Billy Bright is Dick van Dyke's (1925) finest performance, and that's saying a lot for an actor who has 9 Emmy nominations and 4 wins for his "Dick van Dyke Show" (1961-6) and a Golden Globe nomination for "Mary Poppins" (1964). "The Comic" comes at the end of van Dyke's brief hiatus from TV - when his series ended in 1966 he made 7 films in the next 4 years (including this one and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") and then returned to the small screen.

Billy Bright is an amalgam of several silent film comedians, including van Dyke's idol, Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton (the alcoholism), Harold Lloyd (who often appeared with his wife), Harry Langdon (the hat), and Charlie Chaplin (the womanizing). While Billy's mannerisms and facial expressions resemble Stan Laurel the most, there are bits and pieces from films of all the famous silent stars.

FWIW - In his autobiography Rooney said he thought the film was about Buster Keaton.

Michele Lee (1942) plays van Dyke's leading lady and wife. She is best known for her work on "Knott's Landing" for which she received an Emmy nomination in 1979 and won 4 Soap Opera Digest Awards. "The Comic" was her third film, following a very successful debut in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1967), but like van Dyke, she returned to TV after this film and has stayed there ever since. Lee does an excellent job as van Dyke's love interest, although I have to say she bears such an uncanny resemblance to Mary Tyler Moore (van Dyke's TV wife) that it is a little disconcerting.

The great Mickey Rooney (1920) plays van Dyke's sidekick, "Cockeye" (probably a homage to Ben Turpin). Rooney made nearly 300 films from 1926 to 2010. He was a major star of the silent era with his "Mickey's" shorts and then went on to save MGM with his "Andy Hardy" series and his films with Judy Garland. He won a Juvenile Oscar in 1939 and went on to garner 4 Oscar nominations. He was nominated 3 times for an Emmy and won once ("Bill" in 1981). Rooney is terrific in this film.

Cornel Wilde (1912-89) plays the director. Wilde appeared in more than 50 films and was nominated for his work in "A Song to Remember" (1945). He's probably best known for his work as the Great Sebastian in "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) but I think his best work was in "The Naked Prey" (1966), a film he also directed and produced.

Carl Reiner (1922) produced and directed. Reiner collected 13 Emmy nominations and 8 wins for TV series such as "Your Show of Shows", "Caesar's Hour", and "The Dick van Dyke Show". His work in films is not as well recognized, with bombs such as "Going Ape" (1970), "The Man with Two Brains" (1983), "Summer School", etc. I remember him best as an actor in the Sid Caesar shows and as the straight man in the "2000 Year old Man" skits with Mel Brooks (for which they won a Grammy in 2000).

All of Reiner's awards are for acting and writing, and, IMHO, his work as a director is clearly the lesser of his considerable abilities. If the film has a fault, it is in this area, where there are some obvious lag periods.

In 1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the big box office king, followed by "The Shoot Horses Don't They?", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", "Midnight Cowboy", and "Easy Rider". "True Grit" and "The Wild Bunch" rounded off the top 10. So it was a great year for westerns. The big Oscar winner was "Midnight Cowboy" (Picture, Director) and John Wayne won his only Oscar for "True Grit". Other notable films that year were "Hello Dolly", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Putney Swope" and "Z". Comedy westerns were in vogue with "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys", "Support Your Local Sheriff" and "Paint Your Wagon".

Pauline Kael in The New Yorker said the film had a "true manic feeling" and praised Rooney who "creates a character out of almost nothing and lives it on the screen so convincingly". She criticized Reiner's direction and says "his movies are as thin as skits"

This is truly a great film. On the one hand you have the marvelously funny skits by van Dyke, Rooney, and crew, and around this you have the tragic story of Billy Bright.

BTW - Here's what the great silent film stars were doing the year "The Comic" came out -

* Buster Keaton - died in 1966. Last film "A Funny Thing Happened..." (1966)
* Charlie Chaplin- died in 1977. Last film `A Countess from Hong Long" (1967)
* Stan Laurel - died in 1965. Last film "Atoll K" (1951)
* Oliver Hardy - died in 1957. Last film "Atoll K" (1951)
* Harold Lloyd - died 1971. Last film "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock" (1947)
* Harry Langdon - died in 1944. Last film "Swingin' on a Rainbow" (1945)
* Ben Turpin - died 1940. Last film "Saps at Sea" (1940)

This is definitely a film to see for anyone who likes to laugh. In addition, there are some fine performances, and it's very interesting to see what filmmaking was like in the silent era.